Prognostic significance of the chemerin level in coronavirus disease 2019 patients

Abstract

Increased serum chemerin levels have been reported in several inflammatory diseases. Few studies have investigated the relationship between chemerin and clinical features of COVID-19. Thus, chemerin may modulate the development and progression of COVID-19. We compared the serum chemerin concentration between patients with and without SARS-CoV-2 infection and its association with the severity and prognosis of COVID-19 pneumonia. This is a prospective, single-center, cross-sectional study. We enrolled COVID-19 patients who presented to our tertiary hospital and healthy controls. The COVID-19 patients were conducted and the dates of symptom onset were recorded. After admission to the hospital and stabilization, blood samples were obtained for routine hemogram, biochemistry, and chemerin. The chemerin level was 37.93 ± 17.3 ng/mL in patients followed in the ICU, 29.41 ± 12.79 ng/mL in inpatients, 30.48 ± 10.86 ng/mL in outpatients, and 25.12 ± 9.82 ng/mL in healthy controls. The difference between patients treated in the ICU and healthy controls was significant (P < .001). The high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), ferritin, procalcitonin (PCT), and D-dimer levels were significantly higher in the intensive care unit (ICU) group (P < .001). Moreover, the chemerin level of patients who died was significantly higher than that of those who survived (P < .001). The chemerin level was increased in COVID-19 patients and also increased with increasing disease severity. The chemerin level was higher in the COVID-19 patients than healthy controls and was significantly higher in patients who died compared to those who did not.